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CorecompetenceandcompetitivestrategyoftheTaiwanshipbuildingindustry:aresource-basedapproachInstituteofBusinessandManagement，JUNE2004TheshipbuildingoutputforTaiwanhadbeen4thintheworlduntil1999;however,atthattime,itdroppedtothe9th.Currently,theworldshipbuildingcapacitygreatlyexceedsthedemandandthisdisparitycouldgrowto40%by2005.Facingthisturningpoint,themainobjectiveofthisstudyistore-examinetheinternationalcompetitivepositionofTaiwan’sshipbuildingindustry;further-more,torealizetheindustries’corecompetencesandattempttorecommendcompetitivestrategiesforthefuturedevelopmentofTaiwan’sshipbuildingindustry.TheresultsshowthatTaiwan’smaincorecompetenceisproductionmanagement,mainlythroughheterogeneousresourceanalysis.Thispaperalsoproposesthatforgeneraltypesofships,Taiwan’sdevelopmentpriorityshouldbetoutilizelow-coststrategiestooccupythemarketcontinuously;astohighvalueaddedtypesofships,Taiwan’spriorityshouldbetoutilizedifferentialandfocusstrategies.Finally,thedirectionofgovernmentpolicyissuggested.IntroductionResource-basedviewhasbecomeasignificantapproachforstrategymanagementthroughmanyliteraturediscussionssinceWernerfelthighlightedhowadepartmentusinguniqueandidiosyncraticorganizationalresourcescansustainsuperiorperformance[1].Firmscanobtainadvantagesbyanalyzingandre-assessinginformationabouttheassetstheyalreadycontrol,iftheseassetscanbeusedtoimplementvaluablemarketstrategiesandifsimilarassetsarenotcontrolledbyasignificantnumberofcompetitors.Navarrosuggestedthataresource-basedviewofthefirmisakeyfortherenewalofstrategicthinkinginmatureindustries[2].Barneyproposedthatresourcesincludeallassets,capabilities,organizationalprocesses,firmattributes,information,knowledge,etc.controlledbyafirmthatenablethefirmtoconceiveofandimplementstrategiesthatimproveitseffciencyandeffectiveness[3].However;thereareafewrelatedconceptsinstrategyliteraturewhichareworthmentionedasfollows:OrganizationalcapabilityUlrich&Lakeproposedthatorganizationalcapabilityistheabilitytobuildfirm’sinternalstructureandprocess,andthesestructureandprocessareabletoaffectemployeestocreateorganizationalappropriablecapability.Hence,theorganizationisabletofitwithstrategicrequirementandenvironmentalchange[4,5].DistinctivecompetenceSelznickproposedthatdistinctivecompetenceistodescribethecharacterofanorganization,referstothosethingsthatanorganizationdoesespeciallywellincomparisonwithitscompetitors[6].Snow&Hrebiniakstatedthatdistinctivecompetenceisthecapabilitythatorganization’scompetitorsdonotpossess[7].CorecompetencePorterproposedthatmainstreamstrategyresearchthroughthe1980sandtheearly1990sbroadlyassumedthatitispossibleforafirmtoachieveandsustainacompetitiveadvantage,auniquepositionrelativetocompetitorsthatallowsittoconsistentlyoutperformthem[8].PostPorter’sideal,muchoftheresearchoncompetitiveadvantagefocusedoncorecompetenceasamajorsourceofthatadvantage[9].Corecompetenceisthecollectivelearningintheorganization,especiallyhowtocoordinatediverseproductionskillsandintegratemultiplestreamsoftechnologies[10,11].Afirm’scorecompetenceisdefinedasthevectoroftheirreversibleassetsalongwhichthefirmisuniquelyadvantagedanditisassetofdifferentiatedtechnologicalskills,complementaryassets,andorganizationalroutinesandcapacities[12].Corecompetenceisskillsandareasofknowledgethataresharedacrossbusinessunitsandresultfromtheintegrationandharmonizationofstrategicbusinessunitcompetence[13].Inordertoobservefirmsinawiderpointofviewandtostudyinamorespecificagglomerateeffect,resourcesandcorecompetencesareusedinthisstudy.Theshipbuildingindustryisaninternalized,liberalized,andmatureindustry[2,14].Therelatedindustrynetworkisextensiveandcontainsupstreamsuppliersformaterialandequipment,e.g.thesteelandironindustries,machineryindustry,electricalandelectronicindustries,anddownstreamcustomers,e.g.theshippingindustryandnationaldefenseindustry.Inpost-warJapan,aslaterinSouthKorea,shipbuildingwasidentifiedasakey,strategicindustrycapableofpromotingwidereconomicgrowth.Inaddition,JapanandSouthKoreacomprisethefirstandsecondlargestshipbuildingnationsintheworld.AccordingtostatisticsinLloyd’sRegister,inrecentyears,themainshipbuildingnations:Japan,SouthKorea,China,Germany,Italy,Taiwan,Poland,Spain,Denmark,andCroatiashare90%oftheworld’sshipbuildingoutput.TheshipbuildingoutputforTaiwanhadbeen4thintheworld;however,itdroppedtothe9thin1999.Atpresent,thereare98shipyardsinTaiwan,mostofthemaresmalltomediumsizedandthestate-ownedChinaShipbuildingCorporation(CSBC).Establishedin1973,CSBCistheonlylargeshipbuildertobuildandrepairlargemerchantvesselsandnavalshipsinTaiwan.TheannualoutputofCSBCsharesofthetotalshipbuildingoutputis90%;therefore,CSBCplaysasignificantroleinTaiwan’sshipbuildingIndustry.InFebruary1999,34shipswereonorder,totaling1,160,000grosstonsatCSBC.76%oftheorderswereexportedtoDenmark,Greek,Switzerland,andFrance,amongothers.Recently,theworldshipbuildingcapacityhasgreatlyexceededthedemandandthisdisparitycouldgrowto40%by2005[15].Therefore,Taiwan’sshipbuildingindustryconfrontsseriouscompetitionfromtheinternationalmarket.Taiwanisthe15thlargesttr